Colgate’s Environmental Studies Program helps students to understand the complexity of environmental issues and to underscore the consequences and impacts of the human experience on the environment. Students in environmental studies learn to think, speak, and write clearly and articulately about environmental issues from a variety of perspectives. The environmental studies curriculum combines interdisciplinary breadth with depth in a chosen field of study.

The Environmental Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program located within the Division of University Studies and staffed by faculty from a number of departments who apply their knowledge and expertise to teaching and research endeavors that cross disciplinary boundaries. The program administers five majors: environmental studies plus four departmentally affiliated majors including environmental biology, environmental economics, environmental geography, and environmental geology. All five majors include a common set of courses that ensures a common interdisciplinary experience. Each student achieves depth in analytical ability by taking a specified suite of courses, usually in a particular discipline, chosen in consultation with her or his adviser. To fulfill environmental studies graduation requirements, students must possess a minimum overall GPA of at least 2.00 in all courses counted toward the major, both ENST courses and those taken in other departments and programs.

Honors and High Honors

Environmental studies majors wishing to pursue honors should consult with the environmental studies program director and a research sponsor no later than the spring of their junior year. Honors may be awarded to students majoring in environmental studies who accumulate a GPA of 3.30 in courses counted toward the major, complete a semester-long independent research project under faculty guidance during enrollment in ENST 491, Independent Study in Environmental Studies, deliver an oral presentation to faculty and students of the program, and produce a report in a format most appropriate to the project. The environmental studies steering committee and the research sponsor must determine that the oral presentation and report are of high quality. The sponsor may additionally designate up to three faculty members to evaluate the merit of the work and report to the environmental studies steering committee. The research project should reflect the student’s area of focus but must also demonstrate the understanding gained using an interdisciplinary approach. Students demonstrating exceptional commitment to research and meeting all the requirements for honors may be awarded high honors if the overall quality of their work is deemed to be outstanding by the environmental studies steering committee and research sponsor. To qualify for graduation with honors or high honors in environmental biology, environmental economics, environmental geography, or environmental geology, students must take ENST 490, Seminar in Environmental Studies and also meet the requirements for honors or high honors in the biology, economics, geography, or geology major (depending on the area of specialization). The major GPA is calculated from all courses counted toward the major, both ENST courses and those taken in other departments and programs.

Transfer Credit

A maximum of two course credits transferred from other institutions may be applied toward the environmental studies major. One course credit transferred from another institution may be applied toward the environmental studies minor. If the requirement for Focus in a Particular Field of Study is waived because of a second major or minor, transfer credits contributing to the second major or minor do not count toward this maximum. Approved courses taken as part of Colgate sponsored study groups, such as the Australia study group affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, are not considered transfer credits and do not count toward the maximum. In many cases, courses that might be applied toward the environmental studies major or minor will be approved for university credit by another department on campus. For example, an environmental economics course would be reviewed for credit by the economics department. Once approved for university credit, the course must be approved by the director of environmental studies for credit toward the major or minor. In some cases, a course might be approved for university credit as an environmental studies (ENST) course. Students must supply the director with a course description and syllabus to apply for transfer credit in these cases. Limits on the transfer of courses toward environmental biology, environmental economics, environmental geography, and environmental geology majors are determined by the biology, economics, geography, and geology departments, respectively, and are available in the affiliated department section in this chapter.

Australia Study Group

This program at the University of Wollongong provides a unique opportunity for junior majors and minors to expand their studies of the environment. For more information, see "Off-Campus Study Programs: Australia" in Chapter VI.

Environmental Studies Major

Advisers Members of the environmental studies steering committee and advisers for environmental biology, environmental economics, environmental geography, and environmental geology.

The environmental studies major combines breadth in analytical perspectives, interdisciplinary courses in which students learn to combine analytical perspectives, and depth in a focus area of each student’s choosing. The following courses are required for the major:

IV. Courses Providing Breadth of Analytical Perspectives (three)
1. One of the following courses in Earth Systems and Processes, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement II:
BIOL 181/181L, Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity
BIOL 203/203L, Ecology
BIOL 330, Conservation Biology
BIOL 332/332E, Tropical Ecology
BIOL 335/335L, Limnology
BIOL 336/336L, Advanced Ecology
BIOL 340, Marine Biology
BIOL 359/359L, Ecosystem Ecology
BIOL 403/403L, Field Ecology
CHEM 100, The Chemistry of Altered and Natural Environments
CORE 101S, Energy and Sustainability
CORE 102S, Molecules, Energy, and Environment
GEOG 131, Environmental Geography
GEOG 332, Weather and Climate
GEOG 335, Soil Geography
GEOG 336, Biogeography
GEOG 338, Ecohydrology
GEOL 101/101L, Environmental Geology
GEOL 135, Oceanography
GEOL 210/210L, Hydrology and Surficial Geology
GEOL 215/215L, Paleontology of Marine Life
GEOL 217/217L, Coastal Geology
GEOL 310, Environmental Economic Geology
GEOL 330, Hydrogeology
GEOL 350, Paleoclimatology
GEOL 403, Geochemistry
GEOL 416/416L, Marine Geology
GEOL 430, Seminar on Acid Rain
2. One of the following courses in Social Science Investigations of Environmental Issues, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement II:
ECON 228, Environmental Economics
ECON 328, Natural Resource Economics
ENST/SOCI 319, Food
ENST 340, Environmental Cleanup: Methods and Regulation
GEOG 121, Earth, Society, and Sustainability
GEOG/SOCI 314, Population Issues and Analysis
GEOG 316, Medical Geography and Disease Ecology
GEOG 320, Globalization, Development, and Environment
GEOG 321, Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change
GEOG 322, Ecologies of the City
GEOG 324, International Environmental Policy
GEOG 325, Water and Society
GEOG 326, Environmental Hazards
GEOG 328, Sustainability and Natural Resources
GEOG 329, Environmental Security
HIST 220, American Environmental History
POSC 335, US Environmental Politics and Public Policy
SOCI/ANTH 245, Nature, Culture, and Politics
3. One of the following Arts and Humanities Courses Related to the Environment, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement II:
ARTS 201, Digital Studio: Animation, Image, and Sound Manipulation, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
ARTS 211, Drawing I, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
ARTS 221, Video Art I, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
ARTS 241, Photography I, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
ARTS 251, Printmaking I, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
ARTS 364, Sculpture II, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
Additional ARTS courses may be used to satisfy this requirement with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor.
ENGL 204, American Literatures: Native American Writers
ENGL 219, American Literature and the Environment
ENGL 336, Native American Literature
ENGL 365, Science and Nature Writing
ENGL 420, Emerson and Thoreau
ENST 324, Hunting, Slaughter, Eating, and Vegetarianism
PHIL 313, International Ethics, with permission of the program director and the relevant instructor
PHIL 333, Topics in Environmental Philosophy
RELG 236, Religion, Science, and the Environment
RELG 420, Religion, Nature, and Environmentalism in South Asia
V. Focus in a Particular Field of Study
Four courses (or a combination of full- and partial-credit courses, not including labs, that add up to four full-course credits) that provide depth in a field of study. No more than one of these courses can be at an introductory level, and at least one must be at an advanced level. These courses are in addition to those used to satisfy requirements I – IV listed above. Normally the four courses used to satisfy this requirement will be all from the same department or all from the same one of the lists of requirements IV.1, IV.2, or IV.3, but with permission of the program director any four courses that combine to provide depth in a field of study may be used. With permission of the program director, requirement V may be waived if a student has a second major or a minor.

Environmental Biology Major

Advisers Cardelús, Frey, Fuller, Ingram, McCay, McHugh, Watkins

Environmental biology provides the student with a focus on biological systems and how organisms interact with the abiotic and biotic components of the environment. It also provides a breadth of exposure to environmental studies beyond the field of biology. The following courses are required for the major:

I. Environmental Studies Courses (six)
1. ENST/PHIL 202, Environmental Ethics
2. ENST 232, Environmental Justice, or ENST 321, Global Environmental Justice
3. Both of the following methods courses:
BIOL 320/320L, Biostatistics
GEOG 245, Geographic Information Systems
4. ENST 390, Community-based Study of Environmental Issues
5. One full-credit course or two half-credit courses from the list of Interdisciplinary Courses Focused on the Environment which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major requirement II
II. Biology Courses (six)
1. BIOL 181/181L, Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity
2. BIOL 330, Conservation Biology
3. Three additional biology courses, numbered below BIOL 470, with at least one from each of the areas noted below. Only one of these courses may be at the 100 level.

4. One of the following courses in research
Biology course numbered BIOL 470 or higher
ENST 491, Independent Study, with permission of the program director

III. Other Required Courses (one or two)
Students should choose one of the following three options:
CHEM 101/101L, 102/102L, General Chemistry I and II; or CHEM 101/101L, General Chemistry I and GEOL 203/203L, Environmental Geochemistry and Analysis; or CHEM 111/111L, Chemical Principles.
Students who wish to pursue graduate study or a career in the general area of environmental biology should consider taking CHEM 263/263L, 264/264L and PHYS 111/111L, 112/112L.

Environmental Economics Major

Advisers O’Hara, Turner

The environmental economics major program focuses on the relationships between the economic system and the natural environment, including the use of the natural environment as an economic asset and the impact on the natural environment of the economic system. In addition to courses stressing economic analysis, the major program includes a study of relevant science, humanities, and other social sciences. The following courses are required for the major:

II. Economics Courses (six)
1. ECON 151, Introduction to Economics.
2. ECON 251, Intermediate Microeconomics, with a minimum grade of C.
3. ECON 252, Intermediate Macroeconomics, with a minimum grade of C.
4. ECON 375, Applied Econometrics, with a minimum grade of C.
5. ECON 228, Environmental Economics, or ECON 328, Natural Resource Economics. Students interested in pursuing graduate study or a career in the general area of environmental economics are encouraged to take both of these courses.
6. ECON 428, Seminar in Environmental and Resource Economics, or, with permission of the major adviser and program director, another economics seminar with a research project focused on an environmental or resource issue.

III. Other Required Courses (three)
1. One course from the Earth Systems and Processes list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major requirement IV.1, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.
2. One course from the Social Science Investigations of Environmental Issues list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major requirement IV.2, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.
3. One course from the Arts and Humanities Courses Related to the Environment list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major (requirement IV.3), or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.

Environmental Geography Major

Advisers Burnett, Graybill, Klepeis, Loranty, E. Kraly, Scull

Environmental geography engages students in the interrelations between human systems and the natural environment. The major combines courses in the Department of Geography with a common set of environmental studies courses and courses offered in other relevant disciplines. In collaboration with the major adviser, environmental geography majors select a specific theme within environmental studies on which to focus. Examples that correspond to geography faculty expertise include climatology, population studies, environmental health, environmental systems analysis, gender and the environment, geographic information systems (GIS), political economy of the global environment, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable development. Requirements for the major are as follows:

II. Other Geography Courses (six)
1. GEOG 245, Geographic Information Systems
2. GEOG/ANTH/SOCI 225, Social Science Research Methods or two half-credit methods courses (GEOG 241, Cartography; GEOG 246, Advanced Geographic Information Systems; GEOG 247, Satellite Image Analysis; GEOG 248, Quantitative Analysis of Geographic Data; GEOG/SOCI 251, Media Frame and Content Analysis; GEOG 252, Community-Based Participatory Research; GEOG 253, Interviews; and GEOG 254, The Art of the Research Question and Proposal)
3. One of the following:
GEOG 111, Global Shift: Economy, Society, and Geography
GEOG 121, Earth, Society, and Sustainability
GEOG 131, Environmental Geography
4. One of the following:
GEOG 332, Weather and Climate
GEOG 335, Soil Geography
GEOG 336, Biogeography
GEOG 338, Ecohydrology
5. One of the following:
GEOG/SOCI 314, Population Issues and Analysis
GEOG 316, Medical Geography and Disease Ecology
GEOG 320, Globalization, Development, and Environment
GEOG 321, Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change
GEOG 322, Ecologies of the City
GEOG/REST 323, Arctic Transformations
GEOG 324, International Environmental Policy
GEOG 325, Water and Society
GEOG 326, Environmental Hazards
GEOG 328, Sustainability and Natural Resources
GEOG 329, Environmental Security
6. GEOG 401, Seminar in Geography
III. Other Required Courses (three)
1. One course from the Earth Systems and Processes list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major requirement IV.1, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.
2. One course from the Social Science Investigations of Environmental Issues list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major requirement IV.2, or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.
3. One course from the Arts and Humanities Courses Related to the Environment list which appears above in the description of the environmental studies major (requirement IV.3), or with permission of the program director an additional course that satisfies requirement I.4.

Environmental Geology Major

Advisers April, Harpp, Leventer, Pinet, Selleck, Soja

This major program focuses on the geological components of the environment, including terrestrial and aquatic systems. The program emphasizes large-scale processes in earth systems and how they influence and are impacted by global change. The following courses are required for the major:

3. GEOL 441, Senior Research Seminar
Students majoring in environmental geology are strongly encouraged to take the summer field course GEOL 320, Techniques of Field Geology. Students who wish to pursue graduate study or a career in environmental geology should supplement their major with at least one year of chemistry, mathematics, and physics or biology. Requirements to be considered for honors are the same as those for geology majors, with the exception of the number of cognate courses required. In addition to ENST 490, Seminar in Environmental Studies, environmental geology majors must take at least four full-credit courses in mathematics, chemistry, physics, or biology to become eligible for honors.

A GPA of 2.00 in the environmental geology major is necessary for graduation. A passing grade must be received in all courses counted toward the major.

Minor Program in Environmental Studies

The minor consists of six courses: requirements I.1, I.2, I.3, II, and III as listed above under the environmental studies major, plus one of the courses listed under requirements IV.1, IV.2, or IV.3 of the environmental studies major. Students are urged to enroll in the program as early as possible, with entry normally occurring no later than the end of the junior year.

Course Offerings

Courses unique to the environmental studies program are described below. Descriptions of other courses noted above may be found under appropriate departments.

202 Environmental Ethics
J. Kawall
This course is an introduction to the field of environmental ethics. Some of the major figures and philosophies in the environmental movement are studied and critically analyzed with a particular emphasis on the ethical reasoning and its influences on environmental policies and practices. Topics include the historical development of the environmental movement, central debates between preservationist and conservationist ethics, intrinsic and instrumental evaluations of the natural environment and its inhabitants, animal rights and the ethical treatment of animals, shallow and deep ecological distinctions, and anthropocentric versus biocentric and ecocentric evaluations of nature. This course is crosslisted as PHIL 202.

232 Environmental Justice
A. Baptiste
In the wake of the environmental movement and the civil rights movement there rose a crosscurrent of issues combining problems of social justice and environmental issues. During the past two decades, this crosscurrent has swelled to produce a new social movement: the environmental justice movement. This course explores the terms and ideas of environmental justice by addressing the key issues of environmental racism, distributive justice, political and cultural representation in environmental struggles, alternative theories of justice generated from disenfranchised groups, grassroots politics, and concepts of environmental identity. These issues are introduced and discussed mainly in the context of the U.S. environmental justice movement, with some international context highlighted periodically.
233 Global Environmental Health Issues
F. Frey, E. Kraly, P. Scull
Environmental health is a field of interdisciplinary study that integrates human society and behavior with ecological processes to understand environmental dimensions of human health. This 0.5-credit course focuses on knowledge generated in the natural and social sciences that concerns human-environmental interactions and its implications for human health risk. It introduces students to the conceptual and empirical underpinnings of the direct and indirect relationships between environment and health, approaches to measuring these relationships, and the ways in which health policies, programs, and clinical practices have been organized to reduce risk at various geographic scales: locally, nationally, and internationally. Regional implications of global climate and other global processes provide an important context for the course. This course also explicitly demonstrates the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to investigating questions in global environmental health and the complexity of environmental analysis.

240 Sustainability: Science and Analysis
A. Mechtenberg
In this transdisciplinary course, students characterize, explain, and address sustainability for specific human needs (energy, food, and water) and critical biogeochemical cycles (water, carbon, and nitrogen) for two small blocks within Hamilton and New York City. The course draws empirical material from, and applies concepts and tools to, a semester-long comparison case study involving the sustainability of these two city blocks. In doing so, students analyze ways to understand and address sustainability, but also better appreciate the complexities and interrelatedness of designed systems (grid, transportation, built environment) in the real world and how they affect the way in which we frame and implement solutions to problems regarding sustainability.
316 Nature, Technology, and the Human Prospect
P. Pinet
This course explores the complex interrelationships among Nature, technology, and people, especially the interactions that reconfigure what it means to be human. The aggregate significance of modern technologies is radically transforming the natural and human-built world in good and bad ways, even within remote societies and ecosystems. How do technologies control or influence the ways people value parts of the world over other parts, the ways they value the moment over the future and the past, the ways they value rapid change and innovation over long-standing traditions and slow-changing landscapes? These are some of the complex moral issues raised by the technological enhancement across the globe that is examined by careful reading, writing, argumentative discourse.

319 Food
This course is crosslisted as SOCI 319. For course description, see “Sociology: Course Offerings.”

321 Global Environmental Justice
A. Baptiste
Global environmental justice examines both procedural and distributive inequities as well as injustices in political relationships among nation states. Additionally, it places emphasis on a variety of global political issues, which have evolved from environmental concerns that transcend national boundaries. This intermediate course expounds on the concepts and theories of environmental justice from an international perspective. It evaluates the international frame of environmental justice from a human rights perspective and its applicability to different case studies. A close examination of the theoretical North-South relationship, in terms of dependency and exploitation of peripheral (South) countries by core (North) countries, is central to the course. It analyzes a constellation of issues labeled as global environmental justice, such as tribal exterminations, dislocations of marginalized communities, and resource conflicts. Real world examples of environmental justice cases are critically assessed to develop an understanding of the complex relationships among actors that lead to environmental injustices.

324 Hunting, Slaughter, Eating, and Vegetarianism
I. Helfant
Historically, hunting for food has represented one of the most direct ways in which people have engaged with nature. Some scholars even believe that the “hunting instinct” is a fundamental aspect of human identity. People in modern industrialized societies, however, often have little idea about the origins of the flesh they consume, most of which is raised and slaughtered on an industrial scale. While the majority continue to eat meat, poultry, and/or fish, a minority have chosen to become locavores, vegetarians, or even vegans for ethical, religious, cultural, health-oriented, or environmental reasons. Others continue to hunt and fish but within ecosystems dramatically altered by human intervention and amidst cultural landscapes complicated by commercialized and trophy hunting. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including literature, artistic and documentary films, works of popular culture, autobiographical accounts, online hunting (and anti-hunting) forums, diverse web resources, self-reflective essays, and scholarly approaches ranging from animal studies to humanistic ecocriticism, this course investigates the intertwined themes of hunting, industrial versus family farming and slaughter, eating, vegetarianism, and the ethical and existential choices they present to members of modern industrialized societies. Fishing and fish farming are also considered more briefly.

333 Environment and Community Health in Africa: A Case Study in Rural Uganda (Extended Study)
F. Frey, E. Kraly, P. Scull
The majority of this 0.50 credit extended study is held in villages proximate to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda. The curriculum focuses on health issues including disease prevalence and access to health care in remote villages adjacent to national parks. Ecological dimensions of human health are considered including infectious disease transmission, sanitation and access to water, nutrition and household environment. Students participate in the following educational projects with a diverse array of community leaders: 1) training workshops in research methods for clinical and community health; 2) field studies with health professionals to improve health data collection; and 3) community outreach to understand environmental and community health assets and needs in the region. Ideally, students should bring background and interests in environmental studies, biology and geography. Prior research experience is not necessary; however, to be eligible, students must register for or have successfully completed one of the following courses: BIOL 320, 330, 364, 371, 491 (Frey); GEOG 245, 314, 316, 336, 491 (Scull or Kraly); or ENST 233.

336 Renewable Energy: Research and Implementation
M.E. Parks
Finding energy resources that minimize damage to the environment is a challenge that today’s students will face throughout their lives. This course introduces students to renewable energy technologies as well as the issues involved in carbon capture and storage from fossil fuels. Class meetings are augmented with field trips to sites at which renewable energy technology is being researched or implemented. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

336E Alternative Energy: Research and Implementation in Norway
M.E. Parks
This 0.50–credit extended study gives students the opportunity to learn about current research on renewable energy in Norway and also learn about a very different set of beliefs regarding environmental protest than is common in the United States. Norway has a strong commitment to mitigating global warning that is shown both in its support of research on renewable energy and its willingness to tax fossil fuel energy. In addition to visiting research labs and government offices, students also see some of Norway’s famous fjords and glaciers in order to understand the northern landscapes that are threatened by global warming. Corequisite: ENST 336.

340 Environmental Cleanup: Methods and Regulation
A. Baptiste
This course introduces students to the major hazardous environmental pollution problems in the United States and the regulatory framework within which these problems are managed. Students are challenged to examine the processes and structures that lead to hazardous environmental pollution, the strategies that are used to clean up environmentally polluted spaces, and determine the major hazardous pollutants that are of highest concern for federal regulators. Additionally, students critically assess the current regulatory framework for environmental pollution control, determining the strengths and weaknesses of these statutes. Finally, students are presented with the opportunity to research and develop cleanup plans for a specific contaminated site based on field trips to local sites.
344 Managing Complexity: America’s Public Lands
P. Pinet, R. Turner
Public land management is inherently complex. Typically there are multiple interested parties and potentially competing goals such as wilderness preservation, recreational accessibility, and resource exploitation. Also, the management of public lands may rest with several agencies. Management decisions made in pursuit of one goal often have implications for other goals, stakeholders, and management agencies. Complexity theory offers a new perspective for understanding the complicated workings of ecosystems, economies, and political systems. Such complex adaptive systems are characterized by feedback loops, chaos, nonlinear dynamics, self-organization, and emergence. The aims of this course are to investigate alternative public land management strategies and apply complexity theory 1) to model qualitatively the intricacies of both natural and human-built systems, 2) to propose and evaluate fresh ecological strategies and management policies for conserving public lands, and 3) to investigate new procedures for mitigating tension among competing interests in the use of public land. The course includes some weekend field trips. Prerequisites: two courses related to ENST or permission of instructor.

390 Community-based Study of Environmental Issues
Staff
This project-based, interdisciplinary course examines current environmental issues in the context of community-based learning. Topics for investigation are selected by faculty, usually in conjunction with the campus sustainability coordinator, the Upstate Institute, or directly with local and regional agencies or organizations. Students get practical experience working in interdisciplinary teams to examine environmental issues with a goal of developing relevant recommendations. Prerequisites: at least two courses related to environmental studies; ENST 202 and ENST 232 are strongly recommended.
490 Seminar in Environmental Studies
Staff
In this senior seminar, students discuss the relevant literature (from multiple disciplines) and do research on one or more selected environmental issue or issues, chosen by the instructor. Topics differ from year to year. The goal is to achieve an advanced, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary environmental issues. Prerequisites: open to senior environmental studies majors and minors, or others by permission of instructor.
291, 391, 491 Independent Study
Students majoring in one of the environmental studies programs may pursue special problems involving independent research on topics not adequately covered by formal course work. Approval to register for this course must be obtained from the Environmental Studies Program director.